Rev. Michael G Hayes, M. Div.
Staff Chaplain
Department of Spiritual Care and Education
Loyola University Health System
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
In 2016, I began to sadly realize that merely caring for the victims of gun violence and their families is futile because even when victims survive, they return to our Chicagoland community which, in itself, is an infectious environment. Gun violence in our community is a public health disaster; it is an epidemic. Therefore, it is incumbent upon citizens of good will to use Citizen Power to declare that we stand for a safe city in which to live and thrive.
Area of research or focus: Outreach to the Proviso community
Lucia H. Garcia, MEd, MPH
Director of Student Affairs and Registration
Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health
Loyola University Chicago
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
I am involved in Loyola Stands because I firmly believe that it is my personal and professional calling to be a part of the solution to gun violence through advocacy, research, engagement, and activism. As a born and raised (and very proud!) Chicagoan, I have chosen to invest in my community. As a long-time employee of HSC Loyola in Maywood, I believe we share a responsibility to the community in which we work and serve. Loyola Stands provides us with the opportunity to collaborate with community leaders to be a part of the solution. I am proud to be a part of a growing interprofessional group that believes in health equity, social justice, and the right to a safe and healthy community. I continue to be inspired by the passionate group of clinicians, community leaders, students, faculty and staff from across the University, Medical Center, and Proviso that make up Loyola Stands. I am excited at the collective impact that we can make in our community!
Area of research or focus: My special interests and scholarly activity include gun-violence prevention, community engagement, student success, and global health education.
Mark Cichon, DO, FACEP/FACOEP
Professor and Chairman
Department of Emergency Medicine
Loyola University Health System
Nathaniel G. Booker
Mayor
Village of Maywood, Illinois
The Honorable Nathaniel George Booker was sworn in as Village President (Mayor) for the Village of Maywood on May 18, 2021. Prior to being elected as Village President, Mayor Booker served as Village Trustee from 2019 until 2021. As an elected official, he is a council member with the National League of Cities (NLC) Board of Directors. With a focus on the Chicagoland area, Mayor Booker is a council member with the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus (MMC) for the Aging Friendly Communities as well Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committees. He serves on West Central Municipal Conference- Illinois Legislative Committee and the Illinois Municipal League- Revenue & Taxation Policy Committee and Public Works & Transportation Policy Committee.
For Mayor Booker’s full biography, please visit the Village of Maywood website.
LaSondra Banks
Director of Community Engagement
Village of Maywood, Illinois
Ana Koulouris
Department Coordinator, Health Sciences Ministry
M.Ed. Candidate, 2024
Loyola University Chicago
Amy Luke, PhD
Department Chair and Professor
Public Health Sciences
Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health
Loyola University Chicago
My research has allowed me amazing opportunities to travel the world and meet exciting people, not just other researchers but the people in the field with whom I work. I have become a passionate ‘Africaphile’ as a result of my work here at Loyola. I have been fortunate to be engaged in some truly meaningful scientific work, but also some meaningful community work, especially during the days of the pandemic. My family is of paramount importance to me, and my colleagues come in a close second. Teaching the next generation of public health leaders is a truly enriching experience.
David Olson, PhD
Professor, Co-director
Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy and Practice
Loyola University Chicago
Nallely Mora MD, MPH, PMP
Research Assistant Professor/ Research Program Manager, Department of Public Health Sciences
Loyola University Chicago
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
To have an active role in our community and collaborate to find creative ways to address a serious public health problem, gun violence.
Area of research or focus: My academic focus has been centered on conducting cross-collaborative clinical and population-level research to improve patient outcomes, population health, and reduce health disparities. My Public health practice focuses in epidemiological methods, and the intersection of non-communicable diseases and infectious diseases. My interest implement and adapt evidence-based strategies focused on health disparities among groups with higher risk for disease burden, aiming to apply concepts on future research projects and dissemination of scientific knowledge to improve population health.
Kelly Henry, MD
Clinical Associate Professor
Hospital Medicine, General Pediatrics
Loyola University Chicago & Loyola University Health System
Kristen Donaldson, MD, MPH, FACEP
Attending Physician & Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine
Loyola University Medical Center & Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
I joined to get involved in advocacy and violence prevention efforts through Loyola and in the community. I see the devastating effects of violence in all its forms, but want to do more than just take care of the aftermath in the clinical setting. Violence is a true epidemic and when we find opportunities to act to make our communities safer, I want to be part of the team making change.
Area of research or focus: Violence Prevention, Trauma Informed Care, Medical Education
Abigail Silva, PhD
Associate Professor
Public Health Sciences
Parkinson School of Health Sciences and Public Health
Loyola University Chicago
Mandy Peacock, DNP, APRN, AGNP-C
Clinical Assistant Professor, Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing
Loyola University Chicago
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
Loyola Stands provides a place for people from different institutions, community organizations, and backgrounds to come together for a sense of shared purpose. Though diverse, we all share a common set of values and a common mission. Loyola Stands seeks to educate about gun violence and work towards violence prevention. It is a committee that is truly walking the walk through outreach, sharing of initiatives, and leadership. Most importantly, COMMUNITY remains at the center of everything that Loyola Stands does.
Area of research or focus: Inter-professional education and culturally informed community assessment and programming
Lisa Jacobs, JD
Program Manager
Center for Criminal Justice Research, Policy and Practice
Loyola University Chicago
Amanda Oliver BSN, RN, CCRN
Trauma Injury Prevention and Community Education Coordinator
Loyola University Medical Center
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
As a trauma ICU nurse for almost 7 years, I have moved into an injury prevention role. Seeing gun violence and the consequences first hand, I want to be part of the solution to help prevent it.
Area of research or focus: Trauma Injury Prevention
Sarah Foggy, BSN, RN, SANE-AA, TNCC-I TNS
Trauma Coordinator and SANE, Emergency Department
Loyola University Health System, Gottlieb Memorial Hospital
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
Being an emergency department nurse, I have a lot of interaction with people that have been affected by gun violence. It is important to provide a safe community for us all to live. I am interested in collaborating with community engaged groups to work towards decreasing gun violence.
Area of research or focus: Emergency department nurse, with expertise in trauma and sexual assault survivor patient care
Hieu Ton-That, MD, FACS
Associate Professor, Stritch School of Medicine
Trauma, Surgical Critical Care and Burns
Loyola University Chicago & Loyola University Health System
Lena Hatchett, PhD
Co-Founder and Principal Investigator, Proviso Partners for Health
Associate Professor, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Healthcare Leadership
Loyola University Chicago
Lena Hatchett, PhD is Associate Professor at Loyola University Chicago, Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Healthcare Leadership and co-founder and Principal Investigator for Proviso Partners for Health, a nationally recognized community-coalition to promote racial and economic pathways for equity. Her public health experience includes coalition development and community capacity building for national entities including Trinity Health System; Cook County Department of Public Health, Institute for Healthcare Improvement—as well as regional and local governments. Proviso Partners for Health is a SCALE community in the 100 Million Healthier Lives initiative funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
A graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook with a PhD in Social and Health Psychology, Lena conducted chronic disease prevention and health promotion research at the community level. She has been selected for numerous leadership awards including the Spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, (Jointly hosted by the Loyola University Chicago and Loyola University Health System) and E. Hill De Loney Award for community-based public health. In addition, she has co-authored articles focus on systems change to promote health equity. Her latest Book Chapter features the power dynamics within structural racism and systemic solutions to improve equity.
Ra’mond – Rayshaun Reed, NREMT-B
Emergency / Trauma Technician, Emergency Department
Loyola University Medical Center
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
I am involved in Loyola stands to give back to the community that I grew up in. The community needs to see someone who looks like them give back to them. Also, I would love to help prevent violence within our communities. While gun violence is one of the BIGGEST problems within the Black and Brown community, there are other social determinants that are contributors. I would like to brighten the light on domestic violence, mental health, substance abuse and health equity.
Area of research or focus: Emergency / Trauma medicine, Violence prevention, Diversity, Inclusion and Health equity
Melissa Herlihy, MSN, RN, CCRN, TNS
Trauma Program Manager
Trauma, Surgical Critical Care & Burns
Loyola University Medical Center
Therese Banea, MPH
Loyola University Chicago
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
As a budding public health professional, I think it’s extremely important to take a stand against gun violence, an exacerbated public health problem in our country that disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities. Being involved with this committee provides me the opportunity to have a role in advocacy and activism to address this problem and allows me to be a part of the amazing collaboration between individuals from different institutions, sectors, and organizations to work towards gun violence prevention.
Area of research or focus: Health policy, gun violence prevention, health equity, role of data in public health
Yolanda Pham, MD
Stritch School of Medicine, Class of 2022
Loyola University Chicago
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
To partner with the Proviso community to advocate for gun violence prevention and promote health equity.
Area of research or focus: Public health, community partnerships
Laura Pax
Stritch School of Medicine, Class of 2023
Loyola University Chicago
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
To respond to the issue of gun violence by building community and learning about and addressing the root causes of violence.
Brice Jones, MPH, MBA
Health Equity Senior Program Manager
Clinical Epidemiologist
The American Medical Association
Why are you involved in Loyola Stands?
My goal is to use my academic background in unison with the skills and attributes that I have developed to be a change agent in the areas of improving healthcare access, violence prevention, as well as youth empowerment in various communities in the Chicagoland area. More recently, I have developed a strong passion in youth firearm violence prevention. This is due in part, to gun violence disproportionately impacting young Black and Brown youth, which is having a catastrophic impact on their overall life expectancy. Being a Black man who also hopes to specialize in pediatric healthcare initiatives, this devastating issue is something that I am deeply connected to.
Area of research or focus: Health equity, gun violence prevention, pediatric critical care
Loyola Stands Against Gun Violence 